


The Devil in the Details

by theorytale



Series: The Saga of Hug Fortress [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Allspeak (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26830750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theorytale/pseuds/theorytale
Summary: Loki contemplates Tony, and their relationship.Overlaps the end of chapter 19 and the start of chapter 20 of 'Return to Hug Fortress'.
Relationships: Loki & Tony Stark, Loki/Tony Stark
Series: The Saga of Hug Fortress [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/18939
Comments: 69
Kudos: 263





	The Devil in the Details

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this one but uh I got impatient. So enjoy!

_{Command:recess},_ Tony said firmly, and Loki couldn't move.

He felt his daggers drop from motionless hands; fell to the floor, unable to catch himself. He couldn't move. The Other was burning him and he couldn't get away and he couldn't die and

Tony was talking, nonsensical Midgardian words, and Loki thought, _hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior, intrusive thoughts, insomnia, flashbacks..._

Why couldn't he move? It had to be something Tony had built, some cunning weapon, but Loki couldn't appreciate the skill of it at the moment. Couldn't get away and couldn't stop it and

He tried to summon his cellphone, summon Hegðings-gjǫf, but he couldn't move his hand to reach it...

Tony was touching him, talking still; _You're safe here. It's going to wear off, and you can yell at me, and then you can go back to {metaphor:infuriating} Thor, {acknowledgement}?_

Safe? Not safe. He couldn't move, he couldn't get away, he couldn't _die_ \--

 _Just breathe,_ Tony told him.

Loki struggled to move, to summon the phone, and finally it came to his hand. He didn't think to hide himself; just pressed the keys he needed to slip through its electronic pathways and away.

Alone, alone, safe - not safe - still couldn't move, helpless. _Intrusive thoughts, insomnia, flashbacks._ A curse would be kinder. Loki strained and strained to move, to get away, to escape (to die), but nothing happened.

Tears rolled from his eyes and he couldn't wipe them away.

Slowly movement returned to him. When he could, Loki rolled onto his side. He wrapped his arms around himself and squeezed his eyes closed and _(can't move can't move)_ wept silently until his body stopped shaking.

\--

Tony sent a message asking after his wellbeing. Loki stared at the small phone and stared and stared. He couldn't think. He couldn't feel anything.

He should reply with something. He still needed the Warsmith. He still needed _(Tony)_ the skills the Warsmith could provide. Mostly he wanted to rend the flesh from Tony's bones until he was safe again, but he tried to quell the rage that threatened to sweep over him.

Tony had used whatever artifact it was against both Loki _and_ Thor. Thor, who was Tony's shieldbrother. Was that another example of a king's protection?

If so, Loki thought bitterly, he could do with less protection.

Nonetheless, it was something Loki was... unaccustomed to. Sif and the Warriors Three had betrayed him _for_ Thor, had explicitly gone to battle at Thor's side. Tony had struck against his own shieldbrother and that was... interesting. Dangerously so.

Loki buried himself in old maps to long-lost artifacts, and left the phone alone.

\--

Another message came early in the morning. Loki hadn't slept, all too aware of what was likely to await him in his dreams. It seemed like perhaps Tony hadn't slept either, or not for very long.

_what are your knives made out of?_

Loki slid his fingers over the surface of Hegðings-gjǫf, considering. He was afraid of whatever artifact had stolen his ability to move, but... on some level, he did have a measure of trust for the Stark-King. Without Thor there, Tony would have no reason to use the artifact. Tony was not the Other, did not need or want him battered and angry, did not have the power to bring him back again and again and again--

The idea of being helpless like that again was horrific, but... Tony had told him he was safe, and it had tasted true.

Heart pounding, Loki made his way to the elevator, and up to the level of Tony's workshop.

Tony's voice came as soon as the elevator doors opened. _I didn't intend to wake you up..._

 _Then perhaps you shouldn't have sent me a message at such an hour,_ Loki told him, walking into the room where Tony's creations were born as if he could not imagine a reason to fear.

 _{apology:informal},_ Tony said, and _You use the elevator a lot._

Loki suppressed a smirk at that; Tony still hadn't figured out where Loki had based himself while on Midgard. It wasn't as if Loki hadn't given him _clues_.

He gave some flippant answer, and Tony asked again after his wellbeing. Loki stilled, remembering the quiet horror of the Warsmith's creation.

 _I will confess,_ he said carefully and precisely, _I did not enjoy the effects of your little... device._

The interesting (gratifying) thing was that Tony _looked_ repentant. He looked like he truly regretted using the artifact, even if he would not tell Loki what manner of creation it was. Every instinct Loki had screamed at him to kill the mortal and hide his weakness, but--

But Tony had called them - kept calling them - friends.

Sentiment was ever his greatest enemy. He told himself it was only because Tony was useful, for the satellite network, and he didn't even need to say it out loud to taste the lie.

 _Tell me one thing,_ Loki pressed. _You said that I was safe here, in your workshop. Did you mean that?_

 _Yes,_ Tony said, and _I had to make you both stop,_ and Loki's breath came out in a rush because it tasted true, Tony had deliberately turned on Thor and no one _ever_ turned on Thor. He almost wanted to weep from confusion and relief.

Instead he tried to clumsily show his gratitude by addressing the bilgesnipe in the room: Tony's tiredness. _What troubles your sleep?_ he asked, and saw by the expression on Tony's face that he was right.

Tony was dismissive, and claimed he would recover in time, and there were shards of a broken cup at his feet and bags under his eyes. Loki shook his head and spoke with more honesty than he was used to: _You have seen me in the grasp of nightmare - both sleeping and waking. I hope you don't believe I will think any less of you._

That got Tony to speak; he was troubled that his comrades thought him weak, and did not appreciate all that he had endured to become who he was. That made sense to Loki, because Midgardians were confusing in the number of roles they took; if the Avengers saw Tony more as a craftsman than a warrior, they would not give him a warrior's due. Loki was all too aware how being underestimated in that way could slowly eat away one's confidence.

He clasped Tony's neck, and tried to assure him that he was a warrior and a king; that he was mighty and had triumphed over great hardships. Knowing how it felt to be unsure, Loki took care to impress how remarkable Tony truly was. Truly, he sometimes thought that none in Asgard would compare.

Loki rubbed his thumb against Tony's jaw, and briefly fantasized what it would be like to bury his hand in that soft, short hair - as if he would ever be permitted such a thing - and guiltily he took back his hand, and changed the subject.

The playful banter was something he was more familiar with, and Loki relaxed into it, letting Tony build his defenses back up. Until Tony said, _I'm your king, {endearment:romantic},_ and it was just a joke but the sad truth was, Tony was a better king than Loki had had for a very long time.

Over and over again, Tony extended a king's protection over him, and avenged the wrongs against him; Loki was living in Tony's very palace, for Ymir's sake, and it might all be inadvertent and unknowing on Tony's part but that didn't stop the treacherous core of Loki that almost wanted to bend his knee to this strange mortal king.

He would _not_ behind his knee to a mortal, he would not demean himself so. He was still of Asgard, one way or another, and he was-- he was worth-- something. He had to be. He was born to rule, he would show them all, he would _prove_...

Tony was _not_ his king, nor anything else more than a friend. It was strange enough trying to manage friendship the Midgardian way, without sharing skin and relying instead on what could be said with words. No doubt it would be stranger still to try to manage something more. No, Loki did not need more complications. He was making progress in his plans, and he had someone he could spend time with who genuinely seemed to enjoy his company; that was enough.

_Is now a better time to ask you about your wicked schemes?_

When Loki didn't reply immediately, Tony sighed. _Are they schemes that endanger human lives?_

 _No more than they're currently at risk,_ Loki told him, feigning reluctance. All it took was a tiny bit of misdirection to fix Tony's thoughts on human life. If a few monsters happened to die along the way, well, they'd hardly be missed, would they?

It was a lot like the trick with the Chitauri weaponry; Loki was free to make enquiries about powerful artifacts, and not have to expend so much energy covering his tracks, because if word got back to Tony then it would simply be dismissed as 'looking for Chitauri technology'. At the moment, Loki was on the trail of something called the Eye of Agamotto here in New York City, and it sounded promising indeed.

Yes, a little misdirection was a powerful thing.

Tony stifled a yawn, and Loki rolled his eyes fondly. _You should be in bed._

_What are you, my caretaker? I'm fine._

_You are not,_ Loki told him, trying not to laugh. Tony was behaving like a child, refusing to admit how tired he was, and it was both absurd and adorable.

Good thing for Loki that he didn't mind fighting dirty; he simply picked Tony up, and carried him to the corner where a battered sofa was. Tony made noises of protest but when it came to it he was willing enough to curl into Loki's side and attempt to rest.

Loki closed his own eyes. He didn't expect to sleep, exactly, but something like a light doze would help, especially if he was supposed to endure Thor's company later in the day to continue planning out this satellite network.

Tony was restless, shifting often, and Loki rolled his eyes but did not scold him. Not with as tired as Tony had looked. Loki simply drifted in and out of trance, adjusting his hold on Tony when he needed, and murmuring soothing noises when Tony sounded distressed.

He didn't quite dare to stroke Tony's hair without permission, but the urge was strong.

It was perhaps an hour of this before the sound of the elevator caught Loki's attention. He gestured quickly to bend the light around them, not wanting Tony disturbed. Was that Thor already? No, it was still well before they were due to begin for the day.

The tapping of light shoes and a woman's voice calling Tony's name answered Loki's question. The woman with the ridiculous nickname, Tony's romantic partner. There was no reason to hide and yet...

Tony stirred, half-sitting, and Loki pressed a finger to his lips to shush him. Bending light came a lot easier than manipulating sound.

The woman left again and Tony frowned, still looking half-asleep. _You didn't need to/shouldn't have done that._

 _You need rest,_ Loki said firmly, and _Would you really want to explain my presence?_

Tony looked down and away, something like guilt crossing his face, and he lay back down.

Loki stayed with him on the sofa for some more time, perhaps another hour; it was no less than Tony had done for him on several of their nights drinking, guarding one another's sleep. All too soon the elevator sounded again, and this time it _was_ Thor.

Reluctantly Loki released the light around them, and called quietly, _Over here._

Thor looked over, and his eyes widened slightly as he took in their positions. He frowned, of course. _Loki, why/what are you doing?_

 _He was tired,_ Loki said, in as innocent and insolent a tone as he could manage.

Thor's frown, predictably, deepened. _You are not as clever as you think. You can stop pretending you care for his welfare._

 _Obviously,_ Loki sneered, feeling momentary panic at the idea of Thor seeing how much he'd come to care for Tony. He didn't dare expose such a weakness to Thor of all people. He kept his guard up and his expression mocking as he felt Tony stir again under his hand. _I want these satellites to be well-crafted, and that won't happen if he is {metaphor:sleep-working}._

That was even true, albeit not the whole truth. But then, the truth was always the best way to tell a lie.

Tony made a sleepy noise and pushed himself up again. Loki glanced at him and asked, _How do you feel?_

 _Terrific,_ Tony said, tasting wholly of lie. _I assume it's time for creepy magic activities?_

Loki felt strangely reluctant. As much as he wanted this satellite network built and powerful, he knew that Tony wouldn't approve of his use for it. When the time came--

Sentiment. Tony was a mortal, temporary in more ways than one. Realistically, Loki would probably have ruined this friendship by the time the network was ready anyway, just as he ruined everything else he touched.

Still, Loki was, at heart, a selfish creature. There was nothing stopping him from enjoying the friendship in the meantime. He would take from it what he could, and then - when he had to - move on.

 _Do you two think you can behave nicely today?_ Tony asked them.

 _Of course,_ Loki said with a smile, _my king._

Somehow, he managed to keep his smile even when it didn't taste entirely like a lie.

#


End file.
